Leap Wireless Board rejects bid

The Board of Directors of Leap Wireless International has voted unanimously to reject the unsolicited bid from MetroPCS Communications to purchase Leap Wireless. Leap’s Board indicated that the bid was not sufficient to cover the future growth value of the company.

According to analysts the offer was valued at 8 ½ times Leap's estimated earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, which was less than the 9 times EBITDA from other recent industry deals.

While Leap and MetroPCS are competitors, the bid to merge was viewed by some as necessary to remain competitive with other larger U.S. mobile service providers.

A combination of the two wireless companies would have created a provider with a presence in nearly all 200 U.S. markets, but its cumulative 6.2 million subscribers would still be far fewer than that those of the top U.S. mobile players.